Starting Over
by Festus Flare
Summary: Having not replied to Chief Dokuro's challenge, Katsuragi Keima never became Elsie's buddy, thus altering every event that was supposed to have happened. However, the wheels of fate are still turning as Keima continuously meets up with the runner and loose spirit host, Takahara Ayumi. The world has never seemed so cruel to our young Capturing God...
1. New Game

_To The God of Conquest_

_I have heard rumours that you can conquer any girl. That is quite unbelievable, but if it is true, then there is a girl that I would like you to conquer. If you are confident that you can do it, press the "Reply" button._

_REPLY_

_P.S. If it is impossible, don't ever press the button!_

_Dokuro Skull_

Katsuragi Keima looked warily at the square screen of his precious PFP. The message he had just received was still glaring at him, taunting him to click the "Reply" button. Of course, he too had plans to click on the dreaded button and accept this 'Dokuro Skull's' challenge.

"What's with this mail? It has the scent of provocation! Who does he think I am?" Keima shouted to no one in particular

As his thumb lingered on the button that would have sealed his fate, Keima suddenly felt… hesitant. This was all too mysterious. Yes, he always received Anonymous messages. After all, that's what his site; 'the Fallen God' was all about; Anonymous people sending him messages regarding his precious Dating Sims.

But this one felt different, like it had an aura of malice attached to it. Somehow, Keima knew that clicking the "Reply" button would have caused something even worse to occur; something that he would probably regret later on in his life. In fact, it might even make him regret it there and then. So, with a heavy heart, Keima slowly pressed the "Delete" button, destroying the message that he had just received.

"Hmph, I am a God!" Keima monologue, trying to make himself sound cooler "And Gods do not have to respond to such petty challenges"

He then got up, still staring at the bright light that emitted from the screen of his gaming system. There was no need for him to be on the rooftop anymore. In fact, he should have been going to the Video Game Store today to buy some more Dating Sims. It was that runner, Takahara Ayumi's fault. If only she had helped him clean up and NOT tell him to go clean the rooftop by himself, he would have been done quite a while ago.

As he left, cursing the runner more and more, he managed to complete yet another one of his Dating Sims.

Don't get him wrong, he has no feelings towards this Ayumi girl. No, that would be the understatement of the year. Katsuragi Keima has absolutely zero feelings towards the Real World as a whole. For he is the God of Conquest, the ruler of the 2D world – the Gaming World!

As he closed the door behind him, Keima had just missed the mysterious phenomenon that occurred right where he had sit down just moments before. Dark clouds covered the sky just above the rooftop, basking it in its eerie darkness. Moments had passed and, without warning, a purple lightning bolt struck the ground, causing a huge exploding sound to reverberate towards the area. As the sky cleared, a mysterious figure clad in purple could be seen floating down from the clouds, a broom in hand.

"Mou, I didn't believe he would actually decline" the figure spoke in a rather high-pitched tone "Ah, but what am I going to do about the loose soul now?!"

As the girl frantically started sweeping the area to calm down her nerves, the skull mask that was prominent on her head, acting as a sort of hair accessory, started making a '_Dorodoro_' sound as the eyes glowed green. The girl clicked on a button that was on the mask, turning off the noise.

"Take no measures, Elsie" a deep voice told the girl, Elsie "I believe that we could still handle this situation"

"B-But… Chief Dokuro…!" the girl, Elsie, spoke with a meek voice "The loose soul…"

"Oh, we are not going to be glossing over that now" Chief Dokuro reassured the girl once more "For now, observe the boy. If worse comes to worst, he will be forced to liberate the loose soul from the Host's body. But for now, observe. You _can_ do that, right?"

"O-Of course!" Elsie said with a proud expression "Observing is easy!"

"I could ask Haqua to help you" Chief Dokuro said once more "After all, you _did_ cause the destruction of Atlan-"

"Aah! It's nothing!" Elsie squeaked as she tried to forget about that old experience "I'll observe him just fine, or my name isn't Elucia de Lut Ima!"

With that statement made clear, Elsie took off from the rooftop, floating towards wherever it is that the self-proclaimed God was. That was when she realised just one _teeny_ little problem.

"Aah, where did he go?!"

Meanwhile, back in the classroom.

"Muahahaha!" Keima's maniacal laugh sounded just as annoying as it was written "There is nothing that you can do to escape my conquest! I can already see the ending!"

He epically pushed his glasses up as the non-existent BGM supported his claim. In just a few presses of the buttons on his PFP, Keima conquered yet another girl, kissing her on the lips passionately as he had just saved her from committing suicide. With a proud smile, he saved and reset the game, ready to take on the next girl in the series. A few minutes in, he had appeared at the track field, where the second girl in the game series was.

«"Hey, you must be the new transfer student!"» the girl said with a wide grin

Keima couldn't help but stop and just stare at the screen for a few seconds. After all, the girl he was just about to conquer, she was a lot like a certain runner classmate of his. No, it was just a coincidence that she had the similarly styled black short haircut as the girl. Yes, all a coincidence.

Deciding to look outside the window, Keima took a glance at the track field which was noticeable from here, where the female Track Field members were busy preparing for the Track Meet that was going to be held in a few days. He scoffed at them. No, the girls there couldn't possibly be a Track team. They had no spirit, none of the qualities needed by a Track team.

They didn't even wear bloomers.

However, that was when he noticed something odd. Something that made him question his eyesight.

Around a familiar runner, blue mist seemed to be forming around her, though it seemed to only be viewable by him. Keima rubbed his eyes, but the mist was still there, acting like an evil aura that threatened to kill him.

"Wha-?"

Just as he said that, the most slowly dissipated, leaving the scene to look as it normally did.

"Ignore it, Keima" the brunette told himself "That is all just a trick of light made by reality to make you fall even deeper into the crappy game known as the Real World. There is absolutely nothing for me to worry about. I did not see that blue mist surrounding Takahara Ayumi"

He then proceeded to leave the classroom, heading towards the nearest Video Game Store that he knew. Unbeknownst to him, the gears of fate would not take kindly on his statement. Oh, they were going to make him pay for that.

Down at the track field, Ayumi was happily chatting with her good friends Miyako and Izumi. There was absolutely nothing wrong today, not even the sudden act of their shorts turning into bloomers. That was when Miyako suddenly raised a very interesting question.

"Aren't you supposed to be on duty to clean the rooftop today with Otamegane?" she asked, using the nickname that everyone gave for the bespectacled Dating Sim obsessed freak

"Hmm? Well, I sort of asked him to, well, take care of it himself since I had practice" Ayumi said with a slight blush and a million dollar grin "I guess that wasn't very nice of me, ne?"

"Not very nice? It's Otamegane. Who cares, anyway?" Izumi rebutted, scratching her spiky short hair

Ayumi chuckled at her friend's remark. Well, it was true that no one actually gave a damn on what Keima does. In her defence, she guessed that he might also need the workout. But then again, maybe she should apologise to him for leaving him hanging, just this once. It's not like anything was going to grow from that, anyway.

'_I'll apologise tomorrow, then_' Ayumi thought as she tied her hair up, ready to practice for the Track Meet coming soon

Far away, on the rooftop of the school building, a petite looking girl stared at the runner intently, wondering just how she was going to capture the loose soul without a buddy. Turning her head around, she stared at Keima, blissfully unaware that he was being watched and still playing his PFP.

"Chief Dokuro is going to kill me…"


	2. Continue

Ever since he was a child, Katsuragi Keima considered himself to be rather gifted.

He was a genius, of course, who could easily obtain a high score for his exams without even needing to focus in class. He barely even needed to study, if need be. Still, for some unknown reason, the teachers were all pissed every time he managed to get a perfect score for his exams.

What's there to be mad about, anyway? He got a good score, right?

There was also the fact that he had a slight case of clairvoyance, where he could easily guess where a Route was going to take him. This ability, he acquired due to tremendous amounts of gaming that would be deemed unhealthy by parents and teachers alike. But still, he could just show his brilliant test scores and they would all stare at him in awe and, strangely enough, anger.

Keima would never understand what is wrong with the teachers.

That was why he was currently confused with the sudden Flag that had triggered while he was at the front gate of the school, ready to take on another day of pretending not to give a damn about the teachers as he played with his beloved PFP.

Takahara Ayumi had walked up to him and greeted him in her bubbly manner.

This was a strange occurrence for him. Usually, nobody would even bat an eye as he was at school, playing with his PFP as usual. To them, he was like a damp piece of underwear, and nobody wanted to be caught talking to a damp piece of underwear. But now here she was, the fastest runner in class, Ayumi, greeting him a cheerful "Mornin'!" like she was used to doing that to him every day.

Thinking that this was all just some elaborate plan to fool him into conversing with something from the Real World, Keima ignored the girl and carried on in his merry way. Strangely enough, Ayumi was persistent in following him, striking up one of the most one-sided conversations ever made in the history of humanity.

"-So, anyway, I just wanted to apologise to you for yesterday, kay?" Ayumi smirked and placed her arms behind her head "I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

"As if I would require any assistance from the Real!" Keima scoffed, trying to push away the strangely cheerful girl without changing her Parameters

"Right, I'll take that as a 'yes'" Ayumi smiled once more before running off, waving at Keima happily "well, I've got an errand to run, see ya!"

He swore he heard the sound of someone slamming into a stone pillar at the direction Ayumi had run off to, and a high-pitched voice yelping as if she was used to something like that happening.

Simply shrugging off the strange occurrence, Keima walked into his class and headed for his usual seat, earning not as much as a glance from the other students. Strangely enough, he swore he heard the mention of his name, that is to say his nickname Otamegane, in a few conversations. As always, he tuned out the sound of the students' voices with the beautiful sounds produced by his Dating Sims.

"Aren't you popular today, Otamega?" said a familiar voice, egging Keima on

Kosaka Chihiro sat at her seat that was placed to his south-west, reading a fashion magazine that she had brought over from home. Oh, how Keima hated the girl's guts. For some reason, Chihiro did everything that was in her power to insult Keima on a daily basis, all the while earning nothing much back from him except the occasional death glare from him.

"After all, not only did someone willingly talk to you" Chihiro continued on, still reading the magazine but brain fully set on annoying Keima "It was a girl! Not to mention that that girl is Ayumi, too"

Keima ignored Chihiro again, he didn't need this sort of exercise so early in the morning. He didn't even care about Ayumi's greeting. As far as he's concerned, Ayumi was the type of girl who was cheerful and well-liked, talking to everyone without any form of favouritism. Not to mention that Ayumi had come to apologise to him for ditching him with the task of cleaning the entire rooftop yesterday. It was a valid enough reason to talk to him for a few minutes.

Keima's patience paid off as the bell had rung, making all the students return to their seats as Nikaido-sensei casually strolled into the room, carrying the books needed for today's lessons. Not more than two minutes later, she had slammed a book squarely on top of Keima's head.

"Cheh, I know you think my class is boring, but could you at least pretend to take interest in what I'm teaching for once?!" Nikaido-sensei said in her cool demon-like tone, prompting Keima to wince in pain. Well, look at the bright side. At least he had just managed to reach a Save Point!

As Keima stood back up, rubbing his sore head while cursing his sensei to oblivion, he caught sight of Ayumi once more. He had only stolen a glance, being fully aware that anything more than two seconds was considered staring at a girl, and he was sure that he did not want to be seen staring at something, or even someone, related to the Real World. Still, he was tempted to look once more.

Surrounding Ayumi; was the same blue mist from yesterday.

It was barely noticeable, almost like an interesting piece of rock at the side of the street, but it was there. Quickly, Keima looked at the girl once more. This time, the mist had gone. Blinking back his confusion, the God of Conquest barely realised it when his head was slammed with an even thicker book by Nikaido-sensei.

"Focus on the class, Katsuragi, the class!" she said with her tranquil fury

'_Damn it_' Keima thought to himself as he rubbed the back of his head '_I was too careless!_'

All around him, the Dating Sim addict could hear the hushed voices of his classmates as they noticed Keima's stare. No doubt rumours about the two of them were going to spread soon. To Keima, this was not good. He needed to do something to cancel this Flag, and fast! Sadly, even he knew that Rumour Events were quite difficult to overcome, even in all of his Dating Sims.

'_Either way, I'll still have to get this over with, in order to save my gaming time!_'

And so, for

The rest of the day, Keima had immersed himself in his games, hoping to avoid any unnecessary contact with the Real. As the day wore on, he knew that he was doing well as the rumours started dying down. No doubt that everyone just considered it as that one off-chance that Keima would accidentally look at a girl, or was maybe even looking out the window. Needless to say, Keima was extremely happy with the development.

It was at the end of the class that everything went downhill.

Keima was still at his seat, trying to conquer a feminised Edo Period War General when he felt a presence, a presence that he was trying to ignore for the entire day. For some reason unbeknownst to him, Ayumi had appeared before him, holding out a piece of bread as she smiled cheerfully.

"I still haven't made it up to you, so here you go!" Ayumi said, although Keima could swear that he heard a slight hesitation in her voice "You didn't eat lunch, right?"

"Why?"

"Eh?" Ayumi looked on in confusion

"Why are you even doing this? Aren't you worried about those rumours?" Keima tried to give her a rational explanation, all the while trying to avoid eye contact with the girl "All you needed was to apologise and leave, there was no need to raise anymore Flags along the way"

Ayumi stood, pondering the reason for a second. Well, yes, she was sorry for not helping him out, but this was strangely unlike her. Some of her friends had even started teasing her the entire day because of it, and she was quite sure that she didn't have any feelings for him. That is, she thought that she was sure. Shrugging everything off as she usually did, Ayumi still handed out the bread to him.

"It wouldn't feel right, you know?" Ayumi finally said "Well, I've got Track practice to go too, see ya!"

Keima swore he heard the distinct sound of someone crashing into another stone pillar.

Now, this was a strange development. Well, whatever happens, there was no other reason for Ayumi to converse with him. That should put this strange Route to a grinding halt. Turning to the bread that Ayumi had left him, he decided to take a bite out of it.

"This is too sweet" he mused to no one in particular "I hate sweet things"

Unbeknownst to our protagonist, he was currently being watched from afar. A baby faced Demon was staring at him intently as she peeked out from behind a wall. She was obviously earning strange stares from the many students as they walked past, but the Demon was probably too busy focusing on her target to actually notice it. Why she didn't use her raiment to hide her presence, no one would ever know.

"I guess that everything's going fine…" Elsie thought out loud as she focused on Keima "Her gap is starting to become smaller, too. Now, what should I do to help make the gap even smaller?"

"Absolutely nothing"

"AAH!" Elsie squealed, surprised by the sudden voice that had spoken behind her

Turning around in fear, Elsie was prepared to apologise her head off at Chief Dokuro in case that it was her angry at Elsie for not reporting in. As she continued to apologise and bow in fear, the figure sweat dropped.

"Oi, Elsie, you should stop now" a feminine voice said as the figure tried to hide her face from embarrassment

"I'm so sorry! I- eh?" Elsie finally looked up, gazing at the person that was standing proudly above her

The girl in question was around Elsie's height, albeit a little taller. Her blue-violet hair flowed smoothly behind her back, reaching all the way to her waist. In her hand, a three bladed scythe could be seen. She was using her purple raiment to hide her presence, making Elsie look even more like a fool in front of everyone.

"Y-You can stop now, please" she muttered embarrassedly

"Haqua!" Elsie cheered happily, suddenly standing up and hugging her classmate "What are you doing here?"

"I was just- uh… strolling around when I bumped into you" Haqua lied

In truth, Chief Dokuro had forced her to watch over Elsie for a few days. After all, the clumsy demon was obviously random and unpredictable. If anything, no one would ever be able to guess what she would do next. That was why Haqua du Lot Herminium was tasked with this pointless job. They didn't want another Atlantis incident.

It wasn't like Haqua was going to get a Loose Soul anytime soon, anyway.

"Wow, you're in the Runaway Spirit Squad too?" Elsie admired her role model, prompting Haqua to boast about how she was not only a member of the squad, but a District Chief to boot

"But enough about me, what are you doing?" Haqua asked with a ticked off expression "Why aren't you using your raiment to hide your presence like we were taught? People could see you doing something weird, you know?"

"Ah, s-sorry!" Elsie apologised before quickly using it to turn invisible, making several people stare wide-eyed as she disappeared from view

"Well, where's this buddy of yours that I heard about?" Haqua asked, knowing full well of what was happening to Elsie

"Well, not technically my buddy" Elsie said as she pointed to where Keima's class was "But Chief Dokuro said that he will be either way. Right now, I was told to just observe him…"

Haqua used her raiment to zoom in on the class, spotting the only boy that was still in class. As always, he was busy playing with his PFP like his life depended on it, which might as well be true. Looking at the scene in sadness, Haqua sighed a heavy sigh.

"He looks pathetic… Just how is that guy going to get a Loose Soul?"


	3. Progress

Ayumi was, and always will be, an honest girl. She was honest to people, a fact that some people tend to abuse due to her inability to think up of lies on the spot. She was honest about her thoughts, tending to keep quiet if something was not to her liking. She was even honest about her feelings… Well, most of the time. That's why she actually meant it when she said that she would make it up to Keima. Of course, that glasses-wearing Gamer would never bat an eyelid at something as simple as snacks as a form of apology.

Anyone else would have called her their best friend if they even received a packet of gum. Of course, that was a terrible example to give, but who cares?

That's why she felt pretty damn good about herself when she went to Track practice. She had made it up to the boy and wouldn't have to speak to him again anytime soon, injuring her pride any more than it already was. She even managed to do so without attracting any unwanted rumours!

She breathed in the fresh scent of the track field and beamed. After all, this was her turf. She could run around all she wanted and didn't need to worry about crashing into any form of stone pillar or wall that obstructed her path. Those things have enough holes in them now thanks to Ayumi that she almost won an award for 'Most Property Damage in School'.

Almost.

She still questioned why the teachers won't let her wear spikes on her indoor shoes, though. I mean, million dollar idea alert, right?

"Hey, Ayumi!"

"Wait up!"

The Runner slowed down somehow as she heard her name being called. Two people appeared behind her, both sporting the same white sports tee and red shorts that she did. Miyako and Izumi were both struggling to catch up to their friend, and was glad when she actually slowed down instead of finishing the lap and meeting them from behind. Seriously, who does that?

"Talk of the school, Ayumi!" Izumi gleefully let out a chuckle "And here you are, not even giving a care in the world! How do you do that?"

"Eh, talk of the school?" Ayumi said with an obviously fake smile "What are you guys talkin' 'bout?"

Her two friends sighed at their friend's disability in lying. They finished the lap and sat at the sidelines, watching the other members of the club racing around the track field.

"It's probably nothing, Izumi" Miyako said with her trademark smile "You know how Ayumi's like with everyone, right? She probably just feels really sorry for ditching Otamegane on the rooftop"

"You worded that terribly" replied the spiky-haired girl "You made it sound like she stood him up or something. Well, at least all that's all cleared up now, right? Don't worry, these things will die out in a few days tops"

"Mm-hmm!" agreed Ayumi

"Why are we even talking about this?" Miyako added "I mean, the Track Meet's coming up, and Ayumi's running in it!"

"You're gonna do fine, Ayumi!" was Izumi's response "You're the pride of the school, right? Go and show 'em who's boss!"

The three friends laughed as they went back to the field, going for another lap.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being closely observed by two Demons, hiding in plain sight by using their raiments. Well, one of them was. The other, pony-tailed Demon thought that covering her face with a bunch of leaves was a valid way of hiding. There were some whispers about "That weird girl that disappeared into thin air yesterday", and Haqua was trying her best not to test her scythe on her former classmate.

The District Chief looked towards the general direction of the school building, and used her raiment to easily detect Keima. To her surprise (or lack thereof), he was still gaming. Honestly, there was a limit to how obnoxious a guy could be! How was ANY girl going to fall for a guy like him? Well, that girl must be either really dense, really stupid, or just plain masochistic.

She pitied that girl so very much.

Still, she had a job to do, and her buddy was probably better off on her own. Right now, she needed to help Elsie… pair these two up. She still did not understand why they had to resort to the 'love' alternative, but whatever. For now, she needed to give these two an incentive to talk to each other more.

"Elsie" Haqua called out to her bubbly sidekick "I'm gonna do something, so don't act too surprised, 'kay?"

"Eh?"

Without warning, Haqua attacked the God of Conquests with her raiment, allowing it to zoom straight towards the clueless boy at mach speed. Anyone who was caught in the attack would have been pierced through and dies an unknown death with a hole in their chest. Sadly, Haqua couldn't have that bit of fun. No, she had to make sure the bastard LIVED. Therefore, she attacked the boy's other life source, his beloved PFP.

She had aimed well. Instead of destroying it (Oh, how she wished she could have. That thing was starting to annoy her), Haqua had managed to simply graze it, knocking it flying out of Keima's hand as if a sudden gust of wind had appeared and attacked them. And by gust of wind, I mean an insane, spear shaped gust of wind that had a hatred for Keima and only Keima for wasting her, I mean, its precious time.

God's nutrition was flying away, causing the bespectacled deity to yell in surprise as he tried to make a dash for it. Once again, Haqua's aim was perfect. She had calculated the precise angel and speed she needed to send the PFP sailing towards its-

**SMASH**

"What the-?"

-demise.

Ayumi, who had just finished her break and decided to run another lap just because she can eventhough it was the 3rd Year's turn on the track, had suddenly kicked something squarish and plastic, unable to stop in time to avoid it. Added with her muscular leg strength, said item was blown to smithereens before anyone even had a say about it. Finally, the girl managed to skid to a stop just in time to crash into a certain boy who had fallen down the stairs as soon as the expensive block of plastic and metal was destroyed.

"NO!" Keima screamed to the heavens, hoping that it would realise his title of God of Conquest and fix his beloved "My PFP! I… Wha… No… You…"

Keima's glare was fixated on the girl with her hair tied into a side-ponytail.

"You…! Why do you keep interfering with my games, you Real Woman?! Now how am I going to return to my beloved Virtual World?"

Originally, Ayumi had considered apologising to Keima. After all, she had practically blown it apart just with a kick. Still, that comment about her being a 'Real Woman' somehow offended her, making her quickly ditch that idea and resort to kneeing the boy in the stomach, pushing him farther back.

"Hey, you're the one who dropped it! Maybe if you focused on walking instead of that PFP of yours, this wouldn't have happened!" Ayumi shouted at the top of her lungs "And what the heck do you mean, 'Real Woman'?!"

"Tch, it's not something someone like you would understand. Girls in the Real are so imbalanced and unreliable. Their parameters are all messed up and they never act according to how you want them to. Just where's the fun in that?!"

"I have no idea what you just said, but I bet it's insulting!"

"Enough" Keima released a sigh, hoping to keep his cool "We're getting nowhere by fighting, and I would have to return home to acquire another PFP. Goodbye"

Ayumi watched as Keima suddenly walked off, readily prepared to drop off his huge ego and just get back to his gaming life. In any other case, Ayumi would have chased after the boy and gave him a swift kick to the back for treating her like trash eventhough she had tried to be friendly to him. This time, though, she found herself unable to do so. She could just stand there and wonder what just happened.

As she knelt down to pick up the broken device, cursing his owner in the process, she felt a lump form in her throat. She was usually real good at spreading camaraderie. In fact, she had even approached Keima to apologise for her own rude behaviour, something he didn't even acknowledge. Did it shatter his over-swollen pride that much just to say a simple 'thank you'?

Before she could answer that question, though, she felt the ominous shadows of three people appear behind her.

"Heard your little lovers' spat" the girl in the middle said with a scornful expression "You guys just broke up or what?"

"Eh, we're not… together…" Ayumi tried to defend herself, but was completely outclassed

Before her stood three Third Year students, all of whom were members of the Track Team. Ayumi suddenly felt powerless. Any sort of spunk or flare that she had was quickly dimmed down and put out. These three meant business, and she knew what it was about.

"Still, breaking up with a guy doesn't mean that you could use the track eventhough its the Third Year students' turn" the senior on the right said, glaring daggers at the terrified sophomore

"S-Sorry, but it's just that the Track Meet was coming up, and I wanted to-"

"To what? Train?" The third said with a haughty laugh "You just got lucky when you ran in front of the coach and got a good time for once, Junior. If you think training any harder's gonna help you out during the Meet, then you're very mistaken"

"20 laps around the field" the leader of the trio said, no, commanded as they walked away, leaving a scared Ayumi behind

The Runner looked at the pieces of the PFP in her hand, hoping that it would somehow magically whisk away her anxiety. Sadly, the world was hardly ever that magical. With a heavy heart, she placed the pieces into one pile and started to do her 20 laps, knowing that her seniors would never even care whether or not she would finish them. From the corner of her eye, she saw her two friends casting worried glances at her.

Look at the bright side, though. At least Ayumi could run to her heart's desire.

Somewhere at the entrance, Keima leaned against the wall as he had observed everything that had occurred. If this was a Dating Sim, he would have already understood the route and proceeded to go to the Best Ending. However, there were still a few pieces missing to the puzzle. Anyway, he wasn't even planning on conquering Ayumi, let alone any Real girls.

Turning around to resume his journey home, his mind recapped on what had just occurred during his spat with Ayumi.

"It was there again…" he mused to himself "That blue mist…"

It seemed to have gotten larger, too. Keima, though, had no idea on how he was going to handle that situation, so he decided to let it slide. It was, of course, the sudden sighting of the blue mist that made Keima turn heel and leave. Somehow, he knew that it was trouble for him.

He also knew that he would never get away from it.

Deep inside, Keima knew that he needed to get serious. For once, he needed to work in the Real World and escape the beauty and peace of the Virtual World. If he didn't get rid of that blue mist, he was sure that it would pose a threat to him.

"Haqua! Haqua! Did you see that?! That PFP just suddenly flew out of his hand and went ZOOOM! And suddenly it was KABLAM! And then-"

"Elsie…"

"Haqua! Wait up! We're both following the same person, you don't have to go so fast!"

There also seems to be two people tailing him, but he'll leave that for later.


End file.
